


Foreign Lands

by YouDontRememberTheSomme



Category: The Pacific - Fandom
Genre: Bridge to Terabithia - Freeform, M/M, They’re 12 in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-18 17:53:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19339582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouDontRememberTheSomme/pseuds/YouDontRememberTheSomme
Summary: “Oh yeah? What’ll you call your kingdom, little prince?” Snafu derisively snorted.Sledge held his head high, unaffected by Snafu’s scorn.“I’ll call it ours.”





	1. Chapter 1

“I like your drawing,” a soft voice squeaked, drawing Snafu’s attention. 

He glanced over at a smiling face, big brown eyes looking up at him. 

“You’re the new kid,” Snafu said absently, going back to his sketching. 

“My name’s Eugene Sledge,” he chirped. “I’m from Mobile.”

“Merriell. They call me Snafu.”

“I like Merri better,” Gene decided. “I saw you in that race at recess today.”

“What about it?” Snafu asked gruffly, a bit put-off by the younger one’s eager positivity. “Why weren’t you in it?”

“Mama says I’m sick,” he shrugged. “So I watched the others instead.”

Snafu paused, turning to look at him closer. 

“Do you wanna come play?” Gene asked suddenly. “I can show you the castle in the woods.”

Snafu closed his notebook. “There’s no castle.”

Sledge’s little face twisted into a displeased frown. 

“Yes there is. I can prove it, Merri.”

Snafu’s expression turned skeptical. “Okay.”

~*~

Snafu has to admit, for someone who said they were ill, he was a bit impressed with the ease Sledge swung over the creek. 

“Your turn!” Sledge called, landing on the ground with a soft ‘oof’. 

Snafu managed to snag the rope, wondering if it would hold him and hoping it would as he jumped.

He glanced down at the river with a brief look of wonder and let go, hitting the ground on the other side. 

Sledge jumped up, snagging the rope and loosely tying it around a tree branch so they could get to it on the way home. 

Snafu sighed, wondering what to expect as he followed the little redhead into the woods. 

~*~

He had to admit, a rickety tree house with missing boards wasn’t what he had in mind when Eugene had said “castle in the woods.”

“This is a heap of junk,” Snafu snarked, looking annoyed. “Wastin’ my time by draggin’ me out here.”

“No, it’s a castle,” Gene said stubbornly. “You just don’t see it yet. It’s abandoned and it needs work but it’s still a castle.”

“Oh yeah? What’ll you call your kingdom, little prince?” Snafu derisively snorted. 

Sledge held his head high, unaffected by Snafu’s scorn. 

“I’ll call it ours.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some revenge on a school bully, sort of befriending said bully, and an afternoon defeating imaginary creatures.

“Someone should really do something about him,” Sledge griped, watching Sid Phillips hold a book out of Jay’s reach. “He’s awful.”

“What’re you gonna do about it, boo?” Snafu asked sarcastically, angrily sketching. 

“Stop being so mad, your daddy can’t be that awful,” Sledge said softly. “‘m sure he loves you.”

Snafu gave him a sardonic smile and shrugged. 

Sledge’s expression perked up a bit. 

“Wanna go to the treehouse? I got some stuff from the shed to put in it to protect it against the elves. It’ll cheer you up,” he sweetly implored. “Pleeeeease?”

Snafu glanced up at Sledge’s puppy eyes and sighed. “I’ll ask my daddy. I got chores first.”

“I’ll help! Then they’ll go faster.”

Snafu’s heart dropped and he shook his head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll meetcha out there, alright?”

Sledge pouted a bit but nodded. “Okay. I’ll think of a way to get back at Sidney.”

~*~

Snafu had to admit, he didn’t particularly care for pretend games before he saw how Sledge played them. 

With a stick in his hand - his sword - and his father’s old jacket wrapped around him - his knight’s armor - he and Sledge chased invisible foes around the clearing, declaring their victories as the afternoon wore on. 

They collapsed into a giggling pile around sunset, eagerly talking about the creatures they’d so valiantly vanquished that afternoon. 

“You know, Gene,” Snafu said suddenly, looking at him. “You ain’t too bad.”

Sledge’s face brightened and he laughed. “I was waiting for when you’d realize that!”

~*~

It wasn’t until day after that Sledge admitted what his plan was - fake a note from Mary, some girl Sid (and most other boys, it seemed) had been infatuated with for most of his school years. 

Snafu felt a bit of doubt, watching Sledge run into Sid’s class and slip the note into his desk. 

“You think this is too mean?” Sledge asked, noticing Snafu’s expression. 

He shook his head. “Oh no, he deserves worse, I just wonder if he’ll buy it or not.”

~*~

He did.

Sledge couldn’t think of a time he felt more guilty than he did watching Sidney Phillips cry. 

“I’m sorry,” Sledge said in his tiny voice. “We just wanted to make you stop.”

“Only did it ‘cause my daddy’s a bastard,” Sid muttered, looking miserable. “I don’t get picked on here if I’m the one picking on everyone else.”

Sledge felt horrible, wrapping his arms around the taller boy. “You wanna see something after school today?”

~*~

For all of Snafu’s insistance that their kingdom in the woods was just a bunch of junk, he was fiercely protective over it, insisting that Sid wasn’t allowed in. 

“He ain’t allowed! He ain’t nothing but a big bully anyway!”

“Leave him alone,” Sledge hissed. “His daddy’s mean and he needs somewhere to go if he needs it.”

Snafu looked furious, glaring at the blond before turning away. “Fine! See if I care about that broken old treehouse anyway!”

If Snafu had stuck around, he would’ve seen the deeply wounded look on Sledge’s face as his best friend stormed away. 

~*~

The bus ride the next morning was quiet, Sledge quietly watching Snafu sketch a troll that bore a striking resemblance to a certain blond boy sitting three rows behind them. 

“Wanna go to the castle today?” he asked softly. “I have an idea for the guard tower.”

“It ain’t real,” Snafu snapped, cutting him off. “All your made up stories are for babies anyway. I don’t wanna go to your damn castle, I got better things to do.”

Sledge stared at him for a moment, his mouth hanging open. 

“You’re a big bully too, Merri,” he finally said, gathering his things to go sit with Sid.


	3. Chapter 3

Sledge opened his door, a dog bowling him over as he stepped outside. 

“Lemme up!” he giggled, trying to get away from the dog’s eager sniffing. 

“I found him,” Snafu spoke up from the porch steps. “He’s sweet... Thought you’d like him...”

Sledge lifted his head to look at his friend’s remorseful face and softened. “You didn’t have to find me a puppy.”

“I wasn’t lookin’,” Merriell insisted. “He got into my daddy’s garden this morning.”

Sledge looked down at the pup and smiled. “What should we name him?”

Snafu studied the two for a moment. “What about Deacon? Like the guitar player?”

Gene’s face alighted into a smile and he nodded. “Deacon.”

Snafu brightened a fraction before going serious. “I can’t come play today. We’re gonna go see Mamaw.”

Sledge pouted a moment but nodded. “Okay. I might stay home, it’s supposed to rain.”

Snafu walked over, offering a hand. “Wanna visit the castle before it rains?”

Sledge smiled and took it, letting Snafu haul him up. “Of course.”

~*~

Snafu eagerly ran down the pathway, excited to tell his friend that his visit had been rescheduled and he could stay the evening. 

He paused, slowing down a bit as he noticed the ambulance and people hurriedly milling in and out of the house. 

The only familiar face Snafu spotted was Sidney, so he ran straight for him. 

“Phillips? Where’s Gene? What’s going on?”

Sid glanced at Snafu, a distraught look on the blond boy’s face. “You’re not gonna believe it.”

“Sid-“

“He drowned,” he said quietly. “He was going to the treehouse and the rope snapped. I was gonna meet him there-“

Snafu went still, not listening to him speak. It seemed like he was underwater - the sounds of Sid’s voice and the other people being distorted and inaudible. 

“It wasn’t a place for you,” Snafu said suddenly, lashing out. “If he hadn’t been going to play with you, he’d still be here!”

“Snafu, I didn’t-“

“It’s your fault!”


End file.
